Stitch from Stash - December

WOW, oh WOW!  I made it to the end!!  What a fun year it's been with the Stitch from Stash challenge.  I've really enjoyed it and I'll be back in a few days with my goals for next year.

Here is my spending breakdown for this month...
I started with a balance of $145.51 + December's allowance of $25.00 = $170.51 in account. : )

I did a little buying during the Thanksgiving weekend...

Family Blessings Kit:  13.99
Natural Aida:  4.79
DMC:  2.00

=20.78

149.73 Left! : )

This month I finished the Necessities Sampler...

So I started a Precious Moments charity piece...

And did a little more on the Dimensions O Holy Night kit.

Thanks for all your hard work keeping track of this Mel!  I have really enjoyed it and am already signed up for next year.  If I don't see you before have a Merry Christmas, and I'll be back soon with my 2015 stitching goals! :)

{Stitch from Stash} November

Good morning!  I thought I had better post my SFS update before I forgot!  I had a good month and didn't spend a thing. : )  YAY!!  I still have my eye on a few things that I might get before the end of the year, but we'll see.

Here's my progress since my last update.  I haven't touched my HAED's much during the past couple weeks, but I've made some progress on the stocking...

the Dimensions Nativity...

And even the Necessities Sampler!!  

So here's my report...

I started with a balance of $120.51 + November's allowance of $25.00 = $145.51 in account. : )

I'm doing pretty well with my 5 project rotation/choice.  I can always find something in the group that looks fun to stitch.  The piece I'm really wishing for on my wish list right now is the DesignWorks Oh Holy Night that looks like this...

It looks so happy!! : )  So maybe if I can finish one of my pieces this month I'll let myself order it.  We'll see!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Tricia

Stitch from Stash - October

I had so much fun spending some of my stashed stitching money this month!  When I wrote my last post - the one where I was in a needtobuysomething mood - I didn't realize that I was coming down with the cold/flu that DH brought home last week.  Well, after a week of feeling not so great, I celebrated starting to feel better by doing a little shopping. : )

Here's the rundown...

I really was trying to be good, so last night when I was still feeling sneezy and wheezy I sat down on the floor and spread my charts over the floor.  "I'll just kit up something I have in my stash!", thought I.  Pretty soon I had piles of "I like this!" and piles of "I should stitch this because someone sent it to me" and piles of "I want to do a charity stitch or two next year" scattered around me, and then I opened one of my folders and saw this...

HAED Mini Christmas Mailbox

That was it!!  I looked to see if I had enough fabric leftover from the yard I bought for The Nativity.  WOW!  The Mini one will only be half the size!  Who knew!!  (As a side note... I didn't start the Mini Mailbox last year when I got it because it was TOO BIG.  And now listen to me!  LOL!!)  Anyway, I had enough fabric, so I started to plan...

I went through my floss and marked what I needed.  I made a list of accessories I wanted to have, and I started shopping...

Here's the rundown...

One big Decorative Box to hold the threads, accessories, fabric and charts of my two HAED's on the go.

One little Decorative Box to hold the extra skeins of floss.

Bobbins and Needles

One DMC Storage Box

DMC Floss to finish kitting up The Nativity and Mini Mailbox

One Kiss & Make Up Bag to hold accessories....  It's Vonna's fault.

One clipboard to hold my pattern

One Dimensions Kit from EBay

One WOCS magazine from Ebay with a stitch I want to do for charity.

For a grand total of $78.00 BUT Mel just said we could have a $50.00 exemption once before the end of the year, so I'm going to take it now, making my total a mere $28.00.

So here's my accounting for the month...

I started with a balance of $123.51 + October's allowance of $25.00 = $148.51

I spent $78.00 - $50.00 exemption= $28.00.  So my balance forward is $120.51.

My goal is to stitch on 5 projects for the rest of the year...

1. HAED The Nativity (WIP)

2. Stoney Creek Woodland Sanctuary Stocking (WIP)

3. LHN Necessities Sampler (WIP) (I can start something new if I finish this, 

but it needs to be a charity piece.)

4. HAED Mini Christmas Mailbox - New Start

5. Dimensions Kit Oh Holy Night - New Start

But I have quite a bit still in my Stitch from Stash "account", so if I get desperate again, or if I need fabric or floss for the charity stitch, or if I just want to place a Black Friday order, I still have room to play. : )  This has been such a fun challenge!  Next year I'd like to do this for my stamping supplies, too.  I've spent WAY more there this year than I have on stitching!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tricia

ps I've already started both the Dimensions kit and the new HAED.  You'll have to come back in a week or two for pictures! :)

{Stitch from Stash} September Update

Hi everyone!  Are you as excited as I am that it is fall?  I love Autumn!!  I like to stitch and watch/listen to football games.  I like the pretty leaves and the beautiful colors.  And I like that Christmas is almost here!!! :)

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Stitch from Stash month.  This has been so fun for me so far.  I enjoy seeing all the projects we are pulling from our stashes, and I'm enjoying making a dent in my own!  Here's my update this month - and sorry if the pictures aren't that great... The lighting didn't seem to catch them right this morning!

I stitched another column on The Nativity.  I'm at 5% now!!! WooHoo!

I finished the chart I picked up at Cecilia's Sampler this spring... Lizzie Kate's Thankful String.  I stitched it on 16 count sparkly fabric.  LOVE the sparkle, but working with it made my hands itch, so I glad that I was only doing a little piece. :)

Finished a little PS design for a gift...

Finished a Sheep Virtue (I'm not doing the border on this one...).  I'd like to make it into a bag for a Christmas gift.

Finished a sweet ME doggy ornament....

And worked some more on the toe of the Stoney Creek Stocking.

Here's my accounting for the month...

I started with a balance of $98.98 + September's allowance of $25.00 = $123.98

I looked at a couple of charts over and over again, but I didn't buy them, so all I spent was $0.47 on a skein of DMC floss.  So my balance forward is $123.51.

Want to see some of my "almost boughts"?

Imaginating Harvest Light

Imaginating Got Snow Reindeer

I'm sure I'll get both of them eventually... I just can't decide which one to stitch first.  I love the colors on the first one, and I just love the cute expressions on the reindeers' faces in the second one!

 Happy FALL!!

Tricia

{Stitch from Stash} August Update

Hello, hello!

What a whirlwind month it has been!  I'm afraid I have very little stitching to show for it, but I had two new starts from my stash and took a trip to my LNS, so it was a good month. :)

So here's my month in pictures....

  I stitched 1600 stitches on The Nativity...

and started a Stoney Creek Stocking that was in my stash...

I went to my LNS and picked up a pattern, a needle minder and a Stoney Creek magazine

Because the magazine had this in it...

I started an LHN Sheep...

And picked up the Stoney Creek FREE pattern of the month...

So since we got a free $25.00 this month and I spent $32.00, I'm actually only charged for $7.00 of my budget.  YAY!!  That puts my totals for the month as follows...

Balance forward $80.98 + August $25.00 = $105.98 - $7.00 = $98.98 to Carry Forward.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tricia

{Stitch from Stash} July Update

Hi everyone!

I think I am the earliest Stitch from Stash reporter... I've been trying to post close to the 15th every month because otherwise I'm apt to forget to post at all. :)  I don't have a ton of progress to show this time on The Nativity, though.  A couple days after posting the picture with my Page One finish, my Mom took a turn for the worse and I spent the next week with her at our local Hospice In-Patient facility.  She passed away last Monday, and my daughter and I were blessed to be with her when she died.  The week has SO many sweet memories and evidences of God's hand.  Big things like the fact that the Hospice House opened the very morning that Mom needed it at night, to little things like my niece having a new baby shortly after visiting my Mom and bringing him in the next morning.  Mom hadn't been able to talk and hadn't been very responsive, but when they laid that baby next to her, her arm came up to cradle it.  It was precious.  My brother and sisters and my daughter and I spent hours and hours and hours singing hymns around her bedside... again, just precious memories.  And one special afternoon, my Mom lifted her arm to give me a hug.  She lived and died with her hope in Jesus Christ as her Saviour and Friend.  I pray that will be said of me when I die as well!

Anyway... here's my progress in a very blurry picture..  I'm a little over 6100 stitches in.

Spending.... $0.00

Balance Forward... $80.98

Happy Stitching!

Tricia

{Stitch from Stash #6} June Update

Hi everyone!

Greetings from a very out of touch blogger!  I've hardly commented on anyone's blog lately -- Sorry! -- but I have been watching your progress and cheering you on.  Truly I have!!    I'm glad that I signed up for Mel's Stitch from Stash or I might not even be finding the time to update right now.  The stamping side of my life has exploded with busy-ness right now, so most of my forum and blogging and computer time is being funneled that way at the moment. : )

Anyway... on to my report.  I was a good girl and didn't spend any money this past month.  Oh, wait!  yes I did!  I bought 2 skeins of floss for my project...  So I spent 84 cents. : )

I worked and worked on my Nativity piece this month.  Here's the goal...

Here was my progress at last report...

And here's where I am today.  Can you see the start of the palm tree??

I've stitched 4,200 stitches... or 2.2% of the project.

Not much other stitching going on here.  Hopefully I'll be able to concentrate on this one for a few months - at least until I get in the mood for some autumn stitching!!

 So here's my update...

Carried forward from May - $31.82
Plus June budget - $25.00

Available:  56.82

Spent: 
.84 - floss
Balance to carry forward... 55.98

Happy Stitching!

Tricia

{Stitch From Stash #4} April Update and Giveaway Winners

Hi everyone!

It's been a whole month since I posted, so this is going to be a long one!!

You might want to grab a cup of coffee... : )

FINISHES:

I visited Faith's blog a few week's ago and saw that she had gotten this chart free from Stoney Creek and I ran right over and ordered one.  I had to pay shipping, but that doesn't count for our SFS total - Yippee!!  (I think it is free through the 21st, so you still have a few days to get it if you'd like to!)  I used threads from my stash, so it is in totally different colors from the original, but I like how it turned out.  This was my vacation stitch while DH and I were on vacation last week.  I thought it was a perfect choice to work on in the weeks leading up to Easter!

WORKS IN PROGRESS:

Bunny Baby is coming right along, but she's on hold at the moment until I finish my other vacation stitch...

 L*K Spring String... using my own colors.  

STITCH FROM STASH UPDATE:

Well, I did spend some $$ this month!  We were able to stop at Cecilia's Samplers in Branson while we were on vacation.  I really was good, though!  I came away with 4 pieces of fabric for future projects, the LK Thankful String and the cute bunny needleminder that is living on one of the AMAZING bags that Annette made me...  I'll tell you about that in a minute!!

ANYWAY... Here's my report...

Balance Carried Over:  $55.89

Plus April's Budget:  $25.00

TOTAL AVAILABLE:  $80.89

 Expenditures:

Cecilia's Samplers:  $50.00

Total Carried Forward:  $30.89

Total spent through April Report:  $69.11

SWEET GIFTS

Sweet Annette from the California Stitcher gifted me these AMAZING stitching bags, the matching needlebook and two Mary Englebreit ornaments.  I feel SOoooooooo blessed!!  I packed the bags up right away with all my projects for vacation.  They are SO cheery and I love the orange!!  You can see the smaller one a little better in the picture above. : )  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU Annette!!!

All right, if you've stayed with me that long you deserve a prize!  Here are the three Sheep Virtue

GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Love - Anne

Gratitude - Mel

Joyfulness - Simply Victoria

Be sure to email me your addresses, ladies, so I can get these out to you!  I hope I can do some more giveaways and give some joy back to you all.  You are such an encouragement to me!!

Happy Stitching!

Tricia

Stitch from Stash #3 - March Madness

Hi everyone!

It's time for another Stitch from Stash report!   Can you believe it is March already??  One fourth of the year is almost gone!

Let's see... where shall we start?

Progress...

 

Here's Bunny Baby in all her wrinkled adorableness.  She didn't get much done on her because I just HAD to stitch the chart that my Secret Stitching Angel sent me last month!

A Finish...

Lizzie Kate To Do List

Here it is!  It's framed and hanging above my desk.  I changed the floss colors to what I had on hand and I just love it.  They are such good reminders for me right now!

 A Stash Slip...

Of course, being as I had to make a trip to the LNS for the frame up there, and being as the LNS is over an hour away so I had to make it worthwhile, and being as I am LONGING for spring and I don't have a thing in my stash that is springy except Bunny Baby...  I let myself pick up this sweet LK Spring String that's been on my wish list along with 3 or 4 colors of floss to go with what I already had here.  I picked up a tiny piece of fabric, too, then got home and realized that it was too light for the white to show up.  I haven't decided if I'll order some from 123 Stitch or if I'll change the bunny color... we'll see!

So here's my March report...

Previous Total:  $0.25

March Expenditures:

Joann's: $2.86  

LNS: $16.00

Total spent through March:  $19.11

Bankrolled...  $55.89

Some Stash Sweets...

I received some happy mail!!  One from Shirlee and one from Maggee.  Wasn't that SO sweet of them!  They were on my wish list and I'm planning to start them when I can bear to look at fall and winter designs again.   I'm usually ready by June or July!! : )

A Drawing!

Rather than posting a wish list for you to drool over today, I have three of the Sheep Virtues patterns to give away.  If you're interested please let me know in your comment, and if you would only like to be in the draw for a certain one, let me know.  I'm going to draw three names, cuz I want to spread the love as much as possible!!  I'll choose the winners whenever my next post happens to be!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!

Blessings!

Tricia

Stitch from Stash # 2 - Update and Finish!!

Hi everyone!  

I'm back with my second Stitch from Stash update.  Here's my report since my last SFS post...

First, a finish!!

I finally finished the Dimensions Heart and Soul kit that I started as one of my crazy January projects in 2012!! : )  WOO HOO!  I am SO excited to have this one done!

I'm not sure what I'll work on next, but I'm leaning toward finishing the Lizzie Kate "Promise Me" that I have started.  It's 28 ct over 1, but I've had a nice break working on this 14 ct project, so I think it will be a good change.

Second, my spending report...

I bought something!  Michaels had a 25 cent bin of leftover Christmas goodies and this sweet Mary Englebreit ornament was in there.  I think I'll switch out the fabric and make it for Christmas. :)

Stash to Spend Total:  $0.25

I didn't spend anything on the free weekend.  More because I bought some stamping supplies instead, so my balance forward is $49.75.  YAY!!  I'm going to be visiting Cecilia's Sampler in Branson later this year, so I'd like to have a nice chunk saved up so I don't have to use my free month of overspending.  :)

And lastly, a sweet blog win from Maggee !

Now for this month's wish list.  I figure if I have them all written down it will make it easier when I finally go shopping for new stash.  Hopefully I'll have a LOT more finishes before then, though!!

18 ct - 14 x 18
For HAED Ornament
Larger size for Mini Christmas Mailbox

I want to get some of this Magic Guide fabric to stitch my HAED Mini Christmas Mailbox on.  Of course, I need to finish my Little Drummer Boy stocking first, so it might be awhile.  And I might change my mind and get the 25 count and stitch it tent stitch instead.  Decisions, decisions!

Love this!!!

Lizzie Kate

So Sweet!

Lizzie Kate Snowy String

Cute, cute, cute!!

Lizzie Kate - A Little Snow

Shepherd's Bush Fobs are adorable!

Shepherd's Bush - Harmony Fob

This one, too!

Shepherd's Bush - 2014 Fob and Scissors

Shepherd's Bush Happy Snowman -
I have the free chart, but I'd love to have them kit it up!

I saw this on someone's blog...  we used to live in a little cabin in the woods and had deer on our property, so I really like this one!!  ETA - Maggee is sending this to me from her stash!  THANK YOU, Maggee!!! : )

That's it for me this time!  I'll try to drop in again at the end of the month.  Maybe I'll even have another finish!!

TTFN!

Tricia

Stitch from Stash #1 - A Finish!!

Greetings and Salapuppies, everyone!

It's time for my January Stitch from Stash post, cuz I have a FINISH to show you.   WOO HOO!  By the way, in case you are wondering, my dad would always say "Greetings", which was lengthened into "Greetings and Salutations", which morphed into "Greetings and Salamanders" and has now changed into "Greetings and Salapuppies".  And no, no one has ever accused me of being normal... LOL!! ;)

Are you ready for an overload of cuteness??  Let me present "Mitten Friends" by Imaginating.  I'll even link it, in case you want to stitch it, too!! : )

It is stitched with DMC on 16 ct natural aida, and was a JOY to stitch.  I really love the Imaginating patterns!  And, yes, I did put "2013" as the date.  I stitched most of it last year, and really thought I'd be done by December... LOL!!

OK, here's my Stitch from Stash report....

January, 2014

Amount Spent (so far): $0.00

New Starts from Stash:  Will start an exchange piece today from a 2006 magazine

WIPs worked on:  FINISHED Mitten Friends!!! : )

I thought it would be fun to post my top five wishes during the month that I didn't buy.

Here's this month's list...

Imaginating - Mantel Mischief

HAED - The Nativity  LOL - I have this on my list twice! : )  Here and again in February!

Lizzie Kate To Do List - Received from a secret stitching angel!! : )

Lizzie Kate - Spring String

Pine Mountain - Wondrous

I am saving my stash money right now to buy one of these...

Fiber Hider

I'm thinking the turtle, since I stitch so slowly!! : )

All right, that's it for right now.  I'm going to go pull fabric and floss for my Valentine's Exchange piece.  You probably won't get to see it until next month, though... Sorry!!

Happy stitching!

Tricia